Easily distracted at the office? Here’s how to be more focused.
Easily distracted at the office? Here’s how to be more focused.
CHALLENGE YOURSELF WITH TOUGH PROJECTS
It may sound counter-intuitive, but you could impress your boss and turn in better work by picking up more challenging assignments. A recent study by the University of Illinois revealed that easy duties could make you complacent and more prone to distraction, whereas tricky tasks hone your attention since you feel additional mental effort is required.
TURN OFF MOBILE NOTIFICATIONS
Silencing your phone is not enough. Apparently, a ringtone, alarm, brief flicker on the screen or the discreet buzzing on vibration mode could be enough to break your attention, reports a study by Florida State University. The experts claim that these interruptions could be as distracting as actively making a phone call or even typing a message, so a better bet would possibly be to keep your handphone out of sight and mind.
AVOID COMPLEX TASKS WHEN YOU NEED TO FOCUS
If you’re prone to distracted driving, it might be a good idea to turn off the radio. A report presented at the British Psychological Society’s annual conference shared that some of us have limited attention spans, and anything that causes us to divert our attention too greatly could be dangerous. For the study, which asked 36 participants to use a driving simulator, 18 of them were tasked with a simple goal – listen out for when the voice on the radio changed gender – while the other group were given a more complex mission: to listen out for news on the particular road they were driving on. During the test, only 23 per cent of the drivers with the tougher undertaking noticed the unexpected visual of an elephant or gorilla by the road, while 71 per cent of those taking the easier task spotted it.
BE MINDFUL
The practice of being mindful – either through being aware of the present, meditating or focusing on your breathing – is gaining popularity, and studies are finding that it could help in many ways. In addition to curbing stress, it apparently helps you think through things more clearly, and improves cognitive functions, memory and your overall emotional well-being.
TAKE BRIEF BREAKS
Another study by the University of Illinois found that letting your attention drift elsewhere for short periods during a task could help desensitise you to distraction, just as how you don’t notice your clothes brushing against your skin. Doing something else for a few seconds or minutes could also make you re-engage with your work more consciously, preventing your enthusiasm from waning.
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